ARTIST BIO
Kathryn “Kat” Acierno grew up in Wantagh, NY near Jones Beach where she enjoyed creating art, playing tennis and walking the beach. These are still her favorite past times. She graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City with a BFA in General Illustration/Advertising Design. She also took courses at the Art Students League and Parsons School of Design. She earned an MS in Curriculum Development and Instructional Technology from SUNY Albany. She taught Art at Old Kings Elementary School in Flagler Beach Florida and also developed after school tennis programs and summer art & tennis camps. Together with her husband Mike, they raised four wonderful children. With the nest just about empty, Kat is now focusing more time on developing her art career.
ARTIST STATEMENT
My parents were both very artistic. While only my mother studied art in college, my father had art talent as well and enjoyed drawing. As a very young child, I adored the illustrations in my children’s books, especially the art of Maurice Sendak, Ingri and Edgar Parin d'Aulaire, Garth Williams and Ezra Jack Keats to name a few. My parents had an extensive collection of fine art books which I enjoyed looking through very much. My favorite fine artists included Degas, van Gogh, Cassatt and a particular portrait by Marie-Denise Villers which had once been attributed to Jacque Louis David. As an illustration student at FIT I studied and admired the more commercial art of Andy Warholand Alfonse Mucha along with the contemporary illustrations of LeRoy Neiman, Robert Cunningham, and Bernard Fuchs. The Society of Illustrators was Mecca and their hard bound full color annual was the Bible! I believe the common thread in all of the art I grew up admiring was that it was very figurative and very illustrative. I am fascinated by light, reflections, and fabric folds. I like being able to portray a moment in time like a snap shot or seeing the beauty in everyday things and creating a work out of it. I really like getting the eyes of a person or an animal just right. I met my husband shortly after graduating from art school and without regret we focused the last 33 years on raising our beloved children. But artistically speaking, I feel a little like Rip Van Winkle, like I’m fresh out of art school full of hope at the opportunities after awakening from a 33 year nap.